George Washington's Headquarters -
Riverside Park on Greene StreetBackground (east): Retaining wall for Wills Creek
and Western Maryland RR tracks and station.
To the right of photo (south) Wills Creek empties into Potomac
River.
A tad further south is where the C&O Canal terminated and
where canal boats were loaded in Cumberland.

George
Washington's Headquarters
Significant Dates

1755 - Constructed by
General Braddock's men

1755-1758 - Occupied by
George Washington during French and Indian War.

1794 - President
Washington used it once again as his headquarters
when he came to visit the troops sent to put down
the Whisky Rebellion.

1844 - At the request of
Judge Thomas Perry, George Blocher purchased and
moved the headquarters from its original site at
Fort Cumberland to the Blocker farm on Bedford
Road. John Baker resided there for 22 years.

1920 - Dr James Walter
Thomas discovered and purchased the headquarters.
Requested by the Mayor and City Council to donate
it to the City of Cumberland.

1921 - Restored by William
J. Morley. Presented to the citizens of
Cumberland on April 21, 1921. Guests of honor
were General John J. Pershing, Commander of the
American forces in the World War, and Major
Charles Bridges, military attaché, representing
the British Government. Also present were Dr
James W Thomas, Major G. C. Marshall, Jr,
Pershing's aide, George Henderson of the American
Letion, William C. Walsh, City Attorney,
Congressman Fred N. Zihlman, Tasker G. Lowndes
and Rev Dr James E Moffatt, who offered the
invocation. The parade featured a large number of
dough-boys, representatives of the Grand Army of
the Republic and Spanish-American war veterans.

[From History of
Allegany County, Thomas & Williams, p 360-5]

City Hall
(1912)57 North Liberty
Street

This structure replaces
Cumberland City Hall and Academy of Music, completed in
1876 and destroyed by fire in 1910.

City Hall is on the east
side of North Liberty, facing west.

Bell Tower Building
(1885)Corner of Liberty
& Bedford

This structure was built
as police headquarters and served as the county jail
until 1936. From 1941-1972 it was used by the Allegany
County League for Crippled Children. Today it is the
Allegany County Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

US Courthouse & PO (1904)19 Frederick
Street

This structure
originally served as a post office and courthouse. In
1934, it was converted to a police station. Today,
Cumberland's Senior Citizens Center occupies the
building. The police are in a building across the street
in the foreground, Bedford Street.

Fourth building from the
left is the Fort Cumberland Hotel (1917). It is on the
northwest corner of Liberty and Baltimore Streets. This is
where General Pershing stayed when he visited Cumberland in
1921, You can still see the words Fort Cumberland Hotel along
the sides and back of the building though the building is no
longer called that. The tall building with the flag flying on
its roof beyond the Fort Cumberland Hotel building is
Rosenbaums. The local radio station WCBC occupies the two
story brick building on the southeast corner of Mechanic and
Baltimore Streets. To take this photo, I stood in front of
the location of the men's clothing store Metro Clothes owned
and operated by Joseph Feldstein in 1932-1984. He began his
business in the Olympia Hotel on the northwest corner of this
intersection. After the 1936 flood, he moved to the south
west corner. The Feldstein family has placed a plaque at the
store's location to commemorate Joseph's years of service to
the community.

The Second National Bank Building (1890)Southeast corner of Liberty and Baltimore71 Baltimore Street

This photo is taken standing next to
the old Fort Cumberland Hotel, looking south. along
Liberty Street. The First National Bank and the Second
National Bank merged in 1963 under the name First
National Bank and located in this building. The plaque on
the building is confusing as it makes no mention of the
Second National Bank. Today this site is occupied by the
F & M Bank. The First National Bank building prior to
1963, is on the southwest corner of George and Baltimore
Streets. It was constructed in 1912 and is currently
occupied by the First People's Community Federal Credit
Union.

Today the building houses a bakery, just
as it did in 1957 (Federal Bake Shop)
and a cafe. In 1957 Kay Shoes occupied
the location of the cafe. The building can be seen in a
photograph on page 143 of A Pictorial
History of Allegany County.

Also
visible in the 1957 photo is the building on the right,
then the location of the Home Pharmacy. The front was not
covered with that hideous metal siding. Hopefully,
someone will elect to restore the building to its earlier
grandeur.

The building partially visible on the
left has the number 84 "carved in stone" on the
face of the building. I have not found any other
photographs that would help to identify what business may
have occupied this site in earlier times.

Also visible in the 1957 photo are St
Paul's English Lutheran church, now gone, and McCrory's,
and Rosenbaums. Though these businesses have gone their
buildings remain, giving all a chance to reflect on a
more prosperous time in Cumberland.

This building is located on the north side
of Baltimore Street
between Liberty Street and Centre Street

Where the Jewelers Worked

At least three of these
buildings have housed jewelers over the last century.

The second brick building from the left,
with the pink trim and small circular windows decorating
the roof line is where Walter Powell
conducted his business at 103 Baltimore Street. The
building can be identified in an 1896 photo on page 74 of
A Pictorial History of Allegany County. The
building to the right with the arched window is also
partially visible in the old photograph. The brick
building to the left of Powell's building was not yet
constructed in 1896.

The stone building with the blue trim was
the location of the S.T. Little Jewelry Company.
In the early 1900's its address was 97 Baltimore Street,
and at that time as indicated on an advertising button,
they were "Jewelers Over Half A Century." Barnes
Jewelers located in this building and their name
is still on the building above the entrance. Today you
can find antiques of all sorts there.

Located next door is Morton
Jewelers, in business on Baltimore Street for 69
years, though not always at this location. The current
owner went out of her way to fix a ring of mine, before I
left Cumberland. Ironically, this was the ring of my
great aunt Pearl, who came to Cumberland frequently on
her way to visit cousins on a farm in nearby Barton. For
all I know, she may have purchased the ring right here on
Baltimore Street.

FYI, a new restaurant is located in the
building next to Morton's. It is worth a visit!

Moving from left to right in this photograph, you can see
the corner of McCrory's, Rosenbaums, Schwartzenbach &
Son's, a red brick building and the G.C. Murphy's. Beyond
Murphy's it the empty block that was once graced at its
corners by the Barnum and Revere Houses, AKA the Windsor
Hotel and the Kenneweg Building.

Actually, the F &
M Bank has a drive-thru facility located on part of the
Windsor Hotel lot. Never-the-less, it feels like a lot of
empty space.

Rosenbaums was founded by Susman and Simon Rosenbaum
in 1878. They built this building in the late 1890's,
opening here in 1899. Rosenbaums closed in 1971.

Schwartzenbach's still has the name above the entry
way. The business began before the turn of the century.
This building was erected in 1911.
Rumor has it that the state of Maryland is renovating
the building and intends to use it.

G.C. Murphy's has occupied the northwest corner of
George and Baltimore Streets since about 1929. In 1896,
the McMullen Brothers first occupied this site and
constructed this building in 1910. In 2001, G.C. Murphy's
is going out of business.

North side of Baltimore between
Centre & George Streets

Looking West down Baltimore Street from
Queen City Drive

The York Hotel and the YMCA Building (1928)Intersection of Baltimore Street
and Baltimore Avenue

The building to the left appears
in an early 1900 photo as the Hotel Imperial,
then in the early 1940's, it assumes the name Walton.
(See pages 78 & 132 in A Pictorial History of Allegany
County)